"This was a situation that could and should have been avoided. I accept responsibility for my role in this happening and have learned some valuable lessons," Lochte said. "Regardless of the behavior of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that am sorry."

James Feigen's lawyer told The Associated Press the Olympian will pay about $10,800 and leave Brazil. Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger were pulled off a flight in Rio, questioned and released on Thursday.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Olympic Committee said in a statement earlier this week that Feigen, Lochte, Conger and Bentz were headed to Olympic Village early Sunday when their taxi cab was stopped by armed robbers posing as police officers. The statement was released after Lochte told media outlets the group was robbed after the last Olympic swimming event.

Brazilian authorities have challenged the report, which was not made to police but came under investigation after media accounts surfaced. Police say the men actually vandalized a gas station bathroom while drunk on Sunday before being questioned by armed guards, paying for the damage and leaving.